Public Works and Transportation Committee
October 13, 2026
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Elizabeth Lake FROM: Josh Rowan
Interim City Administrator Director, Oakland
Department of
Transportation
SUBJECT: Procurement of Ready-Mix Concrete DATE: September 21, 2026 City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution:
(1) Authorizing The City Administrator To Purchase Ready-Mix Concrete From CalPortland Company, CEMEX Construction Materials, And One Additional Eligible Ready-Mix Concrete Supplier, Including A New Market Entrant, On An As-Needed Basis For A Four-Year Period In An Amount Not To Exceed Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000) Per Supplier Per Year, For An Annual Aggregate Amount Not To Exceed One Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,200,000) And A Total Four-Year Aggregate Amount Not To Exceed Four Million Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars ($4,800,000);
(2) Authorizing Payment Of Unpaid Invoices Due To CalPortland Company In An Amount Not To Exceed Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000);
(3) Waiving Further Advertising And Competitive Bidding Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.04.050(I)(2) And Authorizing Open-Market Purchases Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.04.050(J);
(4) Granting, To The Extent Required, A Limited Restricted Waiver Of The Border Wall Contracting Prohibition Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.22.050 And A Waiver Of The Sanctuary City Contracting Prohibition Relating To Certain United States Immigration And Customs Enforcement, Customs And Border Protection, And Department Of Health And Human Services Office Of Refugee Resettlement Services Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.23.030 For CalPortland Company And CEMEX Construction Materials, And Conditionally For One Additional Eligible Supplier; And (5) Adopting Appropriate California Environmental Quality Act Findings Elizabeth Lake (Oct 1, 2026 14:52:42 PDT) Oct 1, 2026
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: Procurement of Ready-Mix Concrete
Date: September 21, 2026 Page 2
Public Works and Transportation Committee
October 13, 2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With the passage of Oakland’s Affordable Housing and Infrastructure Bond (Measure KK) in 2016, the Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) significantly expanded the City of Oakland (City) in-house construction operations. The expansion has included new staff positions and new construction equipment to support both capital pavement rehabilitation and concrete construction, including concrete roadways, ADA-compliant curb ramps, and sidewalks. Concrete is a vital commodity required for city construction projects; however, recent contract disruptions and procurement challenges have left City crews without available ready-mix concrete material supply.
The proposed resolution addresses the City’s need for a reliable supply of ready-mix concrete.
The ready-mix concrete market serving Oakland is limited and subject to frequent changes in supplier ownership and availability, and the City’s 2025 solicitation produced no valid bids or quotes. To avoid lapses in material supply, staff recommends authorizing the City Administrator to purchase ready-mix concrete from up to three suppliers over a four-year period.
Approval of the resolution would authorize the City Administrator to purchase ready-mix concrete on an as-needed basis from CalPortland Company, CEMEX Construction Materials, and one additional eligible supplier for a four-year period, in an amount not to exceed $400,000 per supplier per year, for an annual aggregate not to exceed $1,200,000 and a four-year aggregate not to exceed $4,800,000. The proposed resolution would also authorize payment of unpaid invoices due to CalPortland Company in an amount not to exceed $70,000 for concrete the City received and accepted after its prior purchase authority expired. Because the City’s 2025 solicitation produced no valid bids or quotes, the resolution would authorize open-market purchases under Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) 2.04.050(J) and waive further advertising and competitive bidding under OMC 2.04.050(I)(2). In addition, the resolution would grant waivers of the City’s Sanctuary City (OMC 2.23) and Border Wall (OMC 2.22) contracting prohibitions for CalPortland Company and CEMEX Construction Materials, and conditionally for the additional supplier, and would adopt findings that the action is not a project under, and is separately exempt from, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Since the passage of Measure BB and Measure KK, the City has expanded its in-house capacity by budgeting for new equipment and two new street repair crews. OakDOT now maintains a fully staffed in-house construction crew that performs concrete work year-round.
In December 2021, City Council approved the 5-Year Paving Plan (5YP) (Resolution No. 88975 C.M.S.), identifying 350+ miles of pavement rehabilitation and preventative maintenance citywide to be completed within five years, including an in-house mileage total goal of 64 miles.
In July 2025, City Council entered into the Curran Consent Decree pertaining to pedestrian rightof-way compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Resolution No. 90805, C.M.S.), committing the City to install or upgrade curb ramps and sidewalks to meet federal and state Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: Procurement of Ready-Mix Concrete
Date: September 21, 2026 Page 3
Public Works and Transportation Committee
October 13, 2026
accessibility standards by 2050. Procurement of ready-mix concrete is critical to achieve compliance with this Consent Decree.
In March 2025, City staff issued a Request for Quote No. 342530 for ready-mix concrete materials and received no valid bids or quotes. The request was open between March 12 and April 14, 2025, and advertised through East Bay Times, Ad. Order No. 0006886402.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The City manages more than 21,000 curb ramps and is responsible for enforcing local ordinances and state law on 2,300 miles of sidewalks within the City. Staff recommends establishing this purchasing authority to meet the inherent demand for concrete materials needed for Department operations, including maintaining sidewalks, curb and gutter repairs, updating, and installing ADACompliant curb ramps.
In spring of 2025, a request for quotes was advertised and efforts were made to secure bids for concrete materials. No valid bids or quotes were received. Previously, the City had entered into an agreement with Right Way Ready-Mix, located in Oakland, for the purpose of procuring the concrete to meet the needs of its in-house sidewalks and curb ramps operations. Since then, Right Way Ready-Mix was acquired by a national firm, Vulcan Materials Company, and renamed Central Concrete. Central Concrete was acquired by CalPortland in June 2026. Central Concrete is located in Oakland. The City’s prior purchase authority for ready-mix concrete has since expired.
These results have led staff to recommend that the City Council authorize the City Administrator to purchase ready-mix concrete on an as-needed basis from Central Concrete (CalPortland Company), CEMEX Construction Materials, also located in Oakland, and one additional Oaklandserving new market entrant (Eligible Supplier), for a four-year period. Authority for a third supplier is included because the ready-mix market serving Oakland is limited and changes frequently, and a qualified supplier may enter or re-enter the Oakland market during the four-year term.
Purchases from each supplier would not exceed $400,000 per year, and total purchases from all three suppliers would not exceed $1,200,000 in any year or $4,800,000 over the four-year term.
Each purchase would be made under a written purchase order, contract purchase order, or other written purchasing instrument approved as to form and legality by the Office of the City Attorney and accepted by the supplier.
Ready-mix concrete, whether in the form of retail pick up or delivery to job sites, is considered a commodity. As a result, procurement of ready-mix concrete is not subject to the City’s Local/Small Local Business (L/SLBE) program. The Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES) has confirmed that neither an Availability Analysis nor a waiver is required.
At the time of this report, there are two suppliers of ready-mix construction materials with locations in Oakland:
CEMEX Construction Materials
333 23rd Ave, Oakland, CA 94606
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: Procurement of Ready-Mix Concrete
Date: September 21, 2026 Page 4
Public Works and Transportation Committee
October 13, 2026
CalPortland Company (Formerly known as Central Concrete) 2400 Peralta St, Oakland, CA 94607
Given the limited and changing nature of the ready-mix market, with individual plant sites undergoing frequent ownership and name changes, staff recommend that the City Council authorize purchases from the two established suppliers and one additional Eligible Supplier, up to the per-supplier and aggregate not-to-exceed amounts described above. CalPortland Company has agreed to accept the City’s general purchase order terms and conditions, subject to resolution of the City contracting requirements addressed in this report. The City’s general purchase order terms and conditions will continue to apply, including the prevailing wage program.
The contracting waivers requested are limited to those described in the Waiver Rationale section below.
Unpaid Invoices. After the City’s prior purchase authority expired, the City received and accepted additional ready-mix concrete from CalPortland Company, resulting in unpaid, undisputed invoices in an amount not to exceed $70,000. The proposed resolution would authorize payment of these invoices in an amount not to exceed $70,000. Funding sources are identified in the Fiscal Impact section of this report.
WAIVER RATIONALE
Ready-mix concrete is a critical material required daily by OakDOT crews for sidewalks and ADAcompliant curb ramps. It is batched off-site at commercial supplier plants and delivered to work sites in the public right-of-way, where City crews place and finish it. Because ready-mix concrete must be used within a limited period after batching, supplier availability, proximity, delivery timing, and operational reliability are essential to the City’s procurement. Staff offer the following findings in support of specific waiver requests.
Open-Market Purchases and Waiver of Further Competitive Bidding. The City advertised Request for Quote No. 342530 in spring 2025 and received no valid bids or quotes. OMC
2.04.050(J) authorizes the City Administrator to purchase supplies in the open market when no valid bids are received after required advertising. In addition, staff recommends that the City Council find, pursuant to OMC 2.04.050(I)(2), that further advertising and competitive bidding would be impracticable, unavailing, or impossible because the City has already conducted a solicitation that produced no valid bids or quotes, the supplier market is limited, and the City requires reliable access to ready-mix concrete for essential City operations.
Sanctuary City Contracting Prohibition (Schedule I). OMC 2.23 restricts City contracts with entities that provide specified data broker, extreme vetting, or detention facilities services to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS/ORR). CalPortland Company and CEMEX Construction Materials have declined to execute the City’s Schedule I certification. OMC 2.23.030(B)(i) permits a waiver where no reasonable alternative exists because there is no other qualified responsive bidder, proposer, prospective vendor, or provider that complies with OMC 2.23.030, or the City would otherwise be unable to obtain essential goods or services on a reasonable basis. Based on the Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: Procurement of Ready-Mix Concrete
Date: September 21, 2026 Page 5
Public Works and Transportation Committee
October 13, 2026
unsuccessful 2025 solicitation, the limited ready-mix market, the time-sensitive nature of the material, and the City’s need for a reliable supply of concrete for essential operations, staff recommends that the City Council grant this waiver, to the extent required, for both suppliers.
Border Wall Contracting Prohibition (Schedule W). OMC 2.22 restricts City contracts with entities engaged in specified work related to the planning, design, construction, or maintenance of a wall along the United States-Mexico border. CalPortland Company and CEMEX Construction Materials have also declined to execute the City’s Schedule W certification. OMC 2.22.050(i) permits a Limited Restricted Waiver on the same no-reasonable-alternative grounds, and for the same reasons described above, staff recommends that the City Council grant a Limited Restricted Waiver, to the extent required, for both suppliers.
Conditional Waivers for the Additional Eligible Supplier. The resolution would also conditionally grant both waivers to one additional Eligible Supplier. Before award to that supplier, the City Administrator must determine in writing that (1) the supplier is otherwise qualified under the resolution, and (2) no reasonable alternative exists because there is no other qualified and reasonably available supplier that complies with OMC 2.22 and OMC 2.23, or the City would otherwise be unable to obtain essential ready-mix concrete on a reasonable basis. The City Administrator’s written determination is a condition of the Council-granted waivers and does not delegate the City Council’s authority to grant them.
Campaign Contribution Certification (Schedule O). The resolution does not waive the City’s campaign contribution requirements. OMC 3.12.140 applies to this procurement and requires a signed and dated contractor certification before award. Rather than requiring a separate Schedule O form, the City will incorporate the required certification into, or attach it to, the applicable purchase order or contract purchase order in a form approved by the Office of the City Attorney, and will ensure the certification is received and filed by the City Clerk as required by law.
Without this authority and these waivers, OakDOT crews would be left without a reliable supply of ready-mix concrete, halting sidewalk and ADA-compliant curb ramp operations under the Capital Improvement Program and the Curran Consent Decree.
RELATED PLANNING EFFORTS
This action supports implementation of the 5-Year Paving Plan (Resolution No. 88975 C.M.S.) and the City’s curb ramp and sidewalk obligations under the Curran Consent Decree (Resolution No. 90805 C.M.S.), both of which rely on OakDOT’s in-house concrete construction operations.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for the purchase of ready-mix concrete materials are available in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025- 27 Budget. For each supplier, annual purchases of up to $400,000 would be funded with up to $40,000 from Fund 2232 State Gas Tax Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA), Project 1003469, and up to $360,000 from Fund 5346 Measure U (2022 Affordable Housing and Infrastructure Bond), Project 1007861. For all three suppliers combined, annual purchases would not exceed $1,200,000 ($120,000 from Fund 2232 and $1,080,000 from Fund 5346), and total Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: Procurement of Ready-Mix Concrete
Date: September 21, 2026 Page 6
Public Works and Transportation Committee
October 13, 2026
purchases would not exceed $4,800,000 over the four-year term. Similar budget is anticipated to be available for the remainder of the four-year term given the ongoing need for sidewalk, curb ramp, and street repair work; purchases in future fiscal years will be subject to funding availability in future budget cycles.
Funding for payment of outstanding invoices to resolve the balance due to CalPortland Company includes $4,500 from Fund 2232, Project 1003469, and $65,500 from Fund 5346, Project 1007861.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Street repaving, sidewalk repair and curb ramp construction are top priorities for Oaklanders, and a significant public outreach process was performed toward the adoption of the 5-Year Plan.
The bid request conducted in spring of 2025 for the ready-mix was disseminated using both the City's web-based procurement system, iSupplier, as well as through a formal advertisement in the East Bay Times.
COORDINATION
The original advertisement for these commodities was performed by the Purchasing Department and the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards. In addition, the Office of the City Attorney and Budget Bureau have reviewed this report and resolution.
RACE AND EQUITY
Staff did not complete a Racial Equity Impact Analysis on the recommended procurement.
However, this action supports OakDOT’s in-house sidewalks and curb ramps operations, which directly implement the racial equity framework embedded in the 5-Year Paving Plan.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)
Staff recommends that the City Council find and determine that the actions authorized by the resolution are not a “project” subject to CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(2) and (b)(5), because they are purchasing and administrative activities that will not themselves result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. As a separate and independent basis, the actions are exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), because it can be seen with certainty that the procurement and contracting actions authorized by the resolution will not have a significant effect on the environment. The resolution does not approve or authorize any specific paving, sidewalk, curb ramp, or other construction project.
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: Procurement of Ready-Mix Concrete
Date: September 21, 2026 Page 7
Public Works and Transportation Committee
October 13, 2026
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution: (1) Authorizing The City Administrator To Purchase Ready-Mix Concrete From CalPortland Company, CEMEX Construction Materials, And One Additional Eligible Ready-Mix Concrete Supplier, Including A New Market Entrant, On An As-Needed Basis For A Four-Year Period In An Amount Not To Exceed Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000) Per Supplier Per Year, For An Annual Aggregate Amount Not To Exceed One Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,200,000) And A Total Four-Year Aggregate Amount Not To Exceed Four Million Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars ($4,800,000); (2) Authorizing Payment Of Unpaid Invoices Due To CalPortland Company In An Amount Not To Exceed Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000); (3) Waiving Further Advertising And Competitive Bidding Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.04.050(I)(2) And Authorizing Open-Market Purchases Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.04.050(J); (4) Granting, To The Extent Required, A Limited Restricted Waiver Of The Border Wall Contracting Prohibition Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.22.050 And A Waiver Of The Sanctuary City Contracting Prohibition Relating To Certain United States Immigration And Customs Enforcement, Customs And Border Protection, And Department Of Health And Human Services Office Of Refugee Resettlement Services Pursuant To Oakland Municipal Code 2.23.030 For CalPortland Company And CEMEX Construction Materials, And Conditionally For One Additional Eligible Supplier; And (5) Adopting Appropriate California Environmental Quality Act Findings For questions regarding this report, please contact Michael Ford, Project Manager II, at [email protected]. Respectfully submitted,
Josh Rowan
Director of Transportation
Reviewed by:
Emily Ehlers
Interim Assistant Director
Prepared by:
Michael Ford
Project Manager II
Haici Liu
Administrative Analyst II